Thank You For NoSQL

I had recent encounters of having a de-normalized database for a web application and it got me thinking if we really do need a structured Database to run a web application. When I had first heard of such a thing it got me amused if all the DBMS and ACID paradigms that I had read at college was a mere joke.

 While I was designing for a B2C and C2C e-commerce online application I tried to incorporate the NoSQL approach. With the conventional approach of three-tier light weight architecture, it struck to me if indeed so much effort is needed for an application which does have any concrete logical schema to adhere too. Adding to that, if such a web application really needs so much investment? Though I was not spending a penny out of my pocket for the infrastructure, expect for the free internet that I enjoyed at my hotel room  :), I was and I would indeed spend a lot of effort trying to put in place a design and implementation which was really not needed for a business case as mine.

Apache Cassandra came out as my favorite for a NoSQL approach. I did like CouchDB by the way. But considering that Cassandra was the most matured among them I by suo moto got attracted more towards it. Not to forget my fetish towards Java also added to the stack as Cassandra did provide java APIs J

After a three day after office marathon (after office is specially meant for my project mates who should keep the notion that I was doing my research while at my desk: P, pun intended) I was able to put through a working proof of concept. With limited information available on the internet, it was a nightmare yet enjoyable to read through the documentation to get around the solution. I though really missed my set of favorite forums viz. StackOverflow and OTN.

I eventually was happy with what I had come up with but I still had umpteen doubts if Java APIs were really needed in the stack. This is where I moved to CouchDB which had not very pleasant HTTP ways of transmitting data. I am still turning stones to get through the HTTP mess ;)

The next part is to incorporate some kind of document repository. Zookeeper kept my left part of the brain busy with its in-memory features. Though it is not a classical document repository but I still think I can use it as one and I hope I am able to reap what I have sown.

The Limitations though remain that such a data cannot be harvested in a DWH from a data mining and cubing perspective but it does provide with seamless solutions which are more than just flexible. 

De-Normalization of database could now just be an optimization paradigm than a mandate !!

A for Apple

It was a Monday morning, yet Sagarika got up with a palpable sense of excitement. It wasn’t her new work life or the new project she had got that was the reason for this excitement. In fact, the reason wouldn’t even mean much to most of the people. Today was the first day she was going to teach in a nearby school as a part of community service. She had always in her heart of hearts wanted to do something like this but never really got the opportunity. All set to be a role model she got ready, put on a decent salwar suit to give her the look and feel of a ‘serious’ teacher .

The time set for the class was 10:30 but when she reached the school, the students were still hanging outside the school gate as the guard had taken the liberty of arriving late. There were not many of them, about 20-30 students of which most of them were boys. Some were hanging from the gate, some just jumping about on the pavement, some jumped over the boundary of the school and were enjoying a good game of ‘sudden catch’ in the school compound. Standing on the pavement, Sagarika’s anger seemed to be rising by every minute. The delay meant she had to stay away from work longer than she had anticipated and that meant staying till 10 or maybe 11 at night to complete the pile of documents which still needed formatting like a normal girl needed make-up to hide the shortcomings. Just then, a loud horn broke her train of thoughts. A long traffic of vehicles had been formed on the road ahead and just in front was a school bus full of students who were clearly from one of the elite schools of the city. However, she noticed that the students in the bus waved and shouted mindlessly at the students waiting at the gate and they returned the ‘courtesy’ by equally pressurizing their vocal cords. The easy banter between the two groups of students irked a mixture of emotions in Sagarika. She had expected the elite students inside the bus to scorn at the students standing at the gate but to her surprise there existed a unique friendship between them which was very pure and innocent, something that you hardly find in the highly qualified professional world that we live in.

Between all the honking and shouting, the guard had arrived and students started running inside their respective classes. She too hurried along with others and had to ask someone where was Std. 6th classroom where she was supposed to take an ‘English’ class. Finally she reached the classroom where only 5 students were sitting- 2 girls and 3 boys. The girls were neatly dressed with their hairs tied in perfect pony tails. The boys were, well as expected shirts out and as if they had landed here right from their bed. That was one thing common to boys irrespective from which class of society they came from (Wanted to omit this Line but couldn't :P). Just then someone asked, “Madam what’s your name?”. Sagarika replied with a smile. She didn’t want to be the strict teacher everyone was afraid of. She asked the students to introduce themselves. Students kept coming in within gap of every minute or so and soon the class was half full. Sagarika was all of a sudden scared of what to do next. The only experience she had in teaching was solving her brother’s homework problems. She didn’t know what topic to take up or what to teach. So she started up with basic grammar- Nouns, and Pronouns. Atleast that was something she still easily recollected from school, especially after all the software models and business processes had corrupted her memory that made it tough for her to remember her name at the end of day. For next 15 minutes she was busy giving the students all fundas she remembered about nouns and pronouns and when she stopped she saw the blank look on face of every student. She knew that it was just like she had taken up an Advanced JAVA session for .NET developers.

Having lost the mission, Sagarika thought that she had lost her long cherished dream of helping people less fortunate than herself. Probably she just didn’t have the right attitude towards helping these people and maybe she would have to suffice with the petty donations she could manage off her meager salary. Just then she heard noises outside and went to check out what was the problem. The adjoining class had no teacher and some students were just jumping up about on the benches. When they saw her, they just felt uncomfortable standing on the bench and got down to greet her. She just asked them to be careful and started walking back to her class when she heard them whisper among themselves, “Ye madam Tata Consultancy Services se aayi hain English padane” (She has come from Tata Consultancy Services to teach English), they couldn’t even pronounce the company name properly but just that statement stirred something deep in her. She was here not as Sagarika but as a representative of the society of people who were fortunate enough to get the good things of life yet who kept complaining for more. It was then that she realised that anyone could be a teacher but what these kids needed was a person who could just encourage them to move ahead, show them the direction they needed in life. They didn’t need to be perfect in English or for that matter neither in Maths or History. Not all of them could be software engineers or doctors of tomorrow but they could be taught to live a life full of dignity. They needed a strong hand to guide them and instill in them the confidence to face life, not just to face life but to walk alongside and ace in life.

We are in a country where sim cards come for free but books are to be bought, where advices come in randomly for no cost but teaching is a profession. Where chicken chilies served at the road side stall seems just too tempting because it has been roasted along with the future of a child. Infact, India has more aliterates than illiterates and at times I too become a part of it. We batten down the hatches for developing a software service but we need an advertisement to inspire people to work for developing the life of a kid. We have always failed to realize that there is more hunger for love and guidance than for food. The aim of education is not to make one understand why to use an "an" before every vowel but to replace an empty mind with an open one and apparently me and the numerous people like me having been focusing on the former aspect. All this time we have just been filling the pail instead what we had to do was ignite the fire. Someone had once said that education is a companion which no future can discourage, no crime can destroy, no enemy can alienate and no nepotism can enslave. What i think he missed was the impact of ignorance towards education :)

I am able to write the post and for this I thank my teacher, why seize the same feeling from someone less fortunate to thank his teacher when he/she does something good in life.

Original Composition & Foundation by http://livinatcrossroads.blogspot.com

The Giant Leap

Having landed in a country so unknown and on the crossroads to the entrée of a new life, things seemed so uncanny. The distant sound of the BMW sports, the mist, small tint of smell of the cigar, that petite glimpse of Aston Martin, all that had made me nostalgic of the childhood times when I was so fascinated with the Bond Movies. These were the thoughts pondering while I was on my way out of the Brussel’s International Airport. Almost in a dilemma, if to be happy about my achievements or sad because of the people I left back. All this was apparently adding to the predominant eerie feeling I had been having since I boarded the flight.

Everything around seemed so organized and planned, and in a way or two I was not liking it or rather should say I was missing the huge lot of auto wala’s and taxi wala’s shouting at the top of their voices “bhaiya taxi chahiye kya?”.No matter u say “no” to their entire group but the optimism in them to ask just one more time, was what I was lay mislaid.

The ride to the flat at Mechelen was remarkable, after all I was in a chauffeur driven Mercedes ‘C’ class for the first time J.The fields and the lighthouses and the boomerang traffic. The chauffeur was pretty amazed to know that I had come here to work, was tuff to convince him that though I looked young, had been working since some time and that I was NOT a student (I can already see the grin on someone’s face J).God knows when would i grow up ;).

People usually ask me the difference I see between Belgium and India. The first thing that strikes me here is the pedestrians here get the preference while walking on roads. You can walk the zebra crossing without seeing left or right because the approaching vehicle will stop, pass a smile and wait for you to cross. So “Koi fark toh nai pardta hai bhai” :D. Had I done something like this in India, I would have writing this post from Heaven ;). Truly speaking, since some time I have had a habit to pick and choose the car that should stop and wait for me to cross the road. My personal favorite being a Bently :P.

Next to it, people here are very friendly. They would wish you a good day, a “take care” message, no matter if they do not know you and no matter u meet them in the lift or the way out or in office or some shopping area or at the parking. Hardly does it matter if the other person looks good or for that matter if you look good or not. This is something I appreciate a lot of the people here. Talking to some stranger is generally not the tone back in India, and it’s your bad luck if that stranger is a girl because then u have committed a grave sin which would either result in an ignorant response or a weird look that emphasizes the fact that you are trying to flirt.

I still remember the day during my initial training days at Mysore, when I passed on a smile and a “hi” to the girl who was the only other co-passenger in the golf cart while travelling in the Infy campus. Much to my surprise, she asked me if I was contemplating to “Line Maro” her by passing on the smile. I was dumbstruck. Infact had to recollect, if I had done something weird by passing on a smile. In the end all I could say to her was, if you think passing on a smile alongside a hi is termed as “Line Maaring” then yes I am trying Line Maaro you. Please go ahead and lodge an ASHI (an infy term , referred to as Anti Sexual Harassment Initiative) complaint against me. Thankfully, she didn’t lodge one. :P.

Apart from all this, the best delicacy here is the chicken scotel.Not because it tastes good, but because the Paki owner has a smile which evidently shows how happy he is to serve us.Infact, every time i call him and visit his food joint, he asks his chef to go out as he will prepare the scotel for us. At times,it becomes hard to believe is the entire pakistan the same ? or i have just met a good man.

Nonetheless and jokes apart, this is turning out to be a huge learning experience in all terms and I hope it turns out to be one. Probably then I would at least be considered matured rather than a happy-go-lucky “joker”.

Hindi hai Hum, watan hai Hindustaan Hamara :) :) :)

The Stooge and the Preety girl - II

A stooge and the preety girl
Took a walk around and it seemed like a pool-whirl
The dumbo stooge was in the abode of satan
posed as if he had lost the baton

Life was moving all fast and terse
Ofcourse it seemed none less than a curse

He wanted to ask her heart out as the clock struck Nine
But the heart took over d mind and he had to chill whine
Afterall love was all about sacrificing and throwing it in the mine

Threw pebbles in lake, circles he drew
The thought of dying hope made him drue
The love he had was prime time true
Thanks GnR for the wonderful crew
Thanks GnR for the wonderful crew

Staring at the wrist and the symbolic bands
He wished if anyone had a magic to wand
The hope he carried had now turned incoherent and mush
Coz the cupids arrow had a different gush

Over and out was all he could say
Every endless night has a dawning day
Every darkest sky has a shining ray (c)

These lines now end as does the last french fry
but he made a promise to keep and would always try
It takes a lot to laugh as your tears go by
But you can find me here till your tears run dry (c)

Stooge and the Preety Girl

A stooge and the preety girl
Took a walk along and it seemed like a MacD Swirl
The Blushing stooge was in seventh heaven
And posed as if he were the only Maven

Life was moving all fast and verse
Ofcourse without the pain in the arse...

He wanted to ask if they could wine and dine
but she was a tea-tottler and it was abosolutely fine
afterall he had an Emi to pay in the pipeline...

Went well for a week or two
Then in all came one clue
These lines have been burgled and it aint my brew
Thanks GnR for the wonderful crew
She is impossible and it’s true...
She is impossible and it’s true...

am still waiting to ask her out and hold her hand
So as to make stong the cement and the wet sand..
None in hand and none in bush
Neither do i want an Aish nor a Sush...

With none of the studs in the gaze
The beach would be an ideal place
with some music in the trace
To cry my heart out and win the ace..
Dumbo me, an ace is a winner in any case..

All these shows the optimism in me
Someday am gonna bunch the flowers and bend on the knee!!!!

pls bear with the spelling disorders if any!!!!

Painted On My Heart

I thought youd be out of my mind
And Id finally found a way to learn to live without you
I thought it was just a matter of time
Till I had a hundred reasons not to think about you

But its just not so
And after all this time, I still cant let go

Ive still got your face
Painted on my heart
Scrawled upon my soul
Etched upon my memory, baby

Ive got your kiss
Still burning on my lips
The touch of my fingertips
This love so deep inside of me, baby

Ive tried everything that I can
To get my heart to forget you
But it just cant seem to

I guess its just no use
In every part of me
Is still a part of you

And Ive still got your face
Painted on my heart
Scrawled upon my soul
Etched upon my memory, baby

Ive got your kiss
Still burning on my lips
The touch of her fingertips
This love so deep inside of me, baby

Ive still got your face
Painted on my heart
Painted on my heart
Painted on my heart, oh baby

Something in your eyes keeps haunting me
Im trying to escape you
And I know there aint no way to
To chase you from my mind

Ive still got your face
Painted on my heart
Scrawled upon my soul
Etched upon my memory baby

Ive got your kiss
Still burning on my lips
The touch of my fingertips
This love so deep inside of me, baby

Gone in 60 Secs ©

Down Memory Lane #Cache 22

Why isn’t anybody hooting me for not smashing the shuttle on the badminton court, why isn’t the sound of shhhh coming out when I miss a simple scoring chance, why isn’t anybody applauding me on picking up a rocket smash or on a beautifully done trick or on a good fielding.

I keep playing Counter Strike for hours but why isn’t anybody fighting with me to take my place, why can’ I hear somebody saying “saale kamine tune bahut khel liya ab mujhe khelne de”

I create my own playlist everyday but why isn’t anybody fighting to change the songs.
Why isn’t there the same excitement to login to gmail….

I haven’t recharged my sim since ages and still why isn’t anybody calling me a JACKASS and LOSER ka dum.

why isn’t anybody giving missed calls and sending messages, pretending to be me, with ma idle sitting phone, cummmon why isn’t somebody playing a prank on me.

Why ain’t I giving missed calls to anyone!!!!

Why isn’t the sound of the distant alarm going dim and why can’ I see the lights of the badminton court getting switched off at 10 in the night.

Why isn’t the taste of Maggie at midnight not the same even though I need to share it wid none...

Why is it that nobody is teasing me and prompting me, every time a bunch of IT juniors pass by….
Why is it that nobody is shouting an expletive every time I say “Main toh seedha saadha ladka hoon”….lol

Why isn’t anybody reading messages in ma inbox much against my wish!!!!!

Why is it that this blog is making me nostalgic …..

Why is it that have got addicted to all those things….
Why is it that am missing all those wonderful friends….
Why is it that I have lost a good few of them in spite of no apparent reason….
Why is it that I can’ get back those few friends whom I have lost…..
Why is it that i can’ realign with those lost ones and brigde the crack….
Why is it that even being in their city and their favorite cafe I can’ meet those lost friends…
Why is it that every time I watch “Mr. Beans” I grin and smile with a reminiscence…..
Why is it that I have gone thru every drop of ink on the book and still have chapters unread…
Why is it that I have plethora of questions and exactly null answers…..

Lo Kar Lo Baat!!!

There can be reasons galore for the growing accidents on the roads..The traffic police may account it for reasons galore, but the major reason can be attributed to teh incomplete traffic rule -- Walk to your left.
It should be protracted to "always walk to your left and never look out for the HBZs or the V stats pertaining to them"


The term uup Rashtrapati is very apt for "Mr..." but associating Mrs. Pratibha Patil with coveted post of Rashtrapati would be a wrong use of gender for bharat...as we consider our nation as our mother India.. how can a “SHE” be the pati of our rashtra....Point to be noted ma lord!!!!
Such is lifes drearies......

Kuch paane ke liye kuch khona pardta hai
jo nahi ho woh bhi hona pardta hai...

eewwwww.....

This does prove to a large extent dat our society was man-dominant aint it??




Mohd yousuf alias Yousuf Youhana, the famous Pakistan middle order bat, had once said "whenever i go thru a bad patch, Pakistan gets to play a series against India and I get back to form" hmmmm....no wonder he is ready to rebel against the pak cricket board to fasten together with the ICL...
Bladdy OPPPURTUNIST!!!